SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT 5

Electron microscopy has long been a cornerstone of materials science, enabling researchers to delve into the nanoscale world with remarkable precision. However, commercial electron microscopes’ high cost and proprietary nature have often hindered broader access and innovation.
Addressing this challenge, a team of scientists from the University of Antwerp in Belgium, one of the IMPRESS project partners, has designed a low-cost, easy-to-build electron detector for scanning electron microscopes.

An affordable and customizable tool
The results of this study confirm the detector’s practicality and performance, underscoring the potential for low-cost solutions to drive significant advancements in scientific research. Indeed, the newly developed electron detector is not only affordable but also highly customizable.
This flexibility is particularly beneficial for researchers focused on technique development, allowing them to experiment with novel setups without the financial burden typically associated with high-end electron microscopy equipment. The detector’s open design encourages further innovation and adaptation to specific research needs. The details of this innovative electron detector have been published in the journal Hardware X.

Democratizing access to electron microscopy
This development has the potential to democratize access to high-quality imaging and analysis tools by lowering the entry barriers to advanced electron microscopy. Researchers from diverse fields, including materials science, biology and nanotechnology, could thus leverage electron microscopy’s capabilities without the prohibitive costs. This aligns with the IMPRESS project’s broader objectives, which aim to create an interoperable platform for electron microscopy based on customizable components.

Key themes and future directions
The key themes addressed by the development of the low-cost electron detector include:

• Making advanced electron microscopy more accessible and affordable.
• Encouraging innovation through customizable and flexible design.
• Supporting diverse research fields with high-quality imaging tools.

The introduction of a low-cost, customizable electron detector for scanning electron microscopes represents a significant advancement in electron microscopy. By making high-quality imaging tools more accessible, this development fosters innovation and supports a wide range of scientific research. Future directions include further enhancements to the detector’s capabilities and broader adoption across various research disciplines.

“The development of this low-cost electron detector aligns perfectly with the objectives of the IMPRESS project, aiming to make advanced research tools more accessible and customizable for a wide range of scientific communities”, concludes Johan Verbeeck, Research Scientist at EMAT and the Nano center of excellence of the University of Antwerp and IMPRESS Project Partner.

Publication details

Hardware X, 2023, 14

Low-cost electron detector for scanning electron microscope

Evgenii Vlasov, Nikita Denisov and Johan Verbeeck

doi: 10.1016/j.ohx.2023.e00413

Read the scientific paper